New Hiking Trail, Davis Mountains..

[SHANEA]

Nature Conservancy to open new public trail in Davis Mountains on October 5

Nature Conservancy to open new public trail in Davis Mountains on October 5
Madera Canyon Hiking Trail will offer views of mountain peaks, Madera Canyon watershed

FORT DAVIS, TEXAS — September 26, 2007 — The public public will have an opportunity to experience the beauty and wealth of wildlife to be discovered in the Davis Mountains in Far West Texas on a new hiking trail opening October 5. The newly constructed, 2.5-mile Madera Canyon Hiking Trail lies within The Nature Conservancy’s Davis Mountains Preserve. The trail is a loop, beginning and ending at the Lawrence E. Wood Picnic Area on Highway 118, about 24 miles northwest of Fort Davis. It will be open during daylight hours.

“Since the Davis Mountains Preserve is typically open to the public only for special activities, the new trail gives people an opportunity to enjoy this part of the preserve more often,” said Colin Shackelford, Davis Mountains stewardship director for The Nature Conservancy.

Built by volunteers by hand for minimal impact on the landscape, it was designed by Big Bend National Park trails supervisor Don Sharlow and his crew. Other volunteer trail builders came from the Tierra Grande Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, St. Stephen’s Episcopal High School in Austin, Central Texas Trail Tamers, the American Hiking Society, Bowie High School Junior ROTC in El Paso and Davis Mountains Preserve volunteers.

The trail was made possible by support from General Motors and from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. GM donated $100,000 to help fund the trail and to assist in the acquisition of 10,000 acres that were added to the preserve in 2004. A grant of $44,295 was received from TPWD’s Recreational Trails Program.

“We’re tremendously grateful for all the hard work of our volunteers and to GM and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for their donations,” Shackelford said. “The Madera Canyon Hiking Trail is now a reality because everyone shared the vision to create it.”

“GM supports the work of The Nature Conservancy because we believe in its mission of preserving our landscapes, helping local economies and saving precious places around the world,” said Elizabeth Lowery, vice president, environment, energy and safety policy for General Motors.

During a ceremony to dedicate the trail at the Davis Mountains Preserve on Sept. 29, GM announced it was donating another $25,000 to The Nature Conservancy of Texas, and GM will continue its support of the Conservancy in 2008 with a donation of a 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, which will be built at the GM Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas.

The Davis Mountains are ecologically unique because of their rare and unusual flora and fauna, and are often are described as “sky islands” rising out of the sea of the Chihuahuan Desert, Shackelford noted.
 “Animals and plants living above 5,000 feet here are isolated from other similar mountain ranges by vast distances,” he said. “These are true ecological islands, preserving living remnants that occur otherwise nowhere else in Texas, and some animal and plant species that are found nowhere else on Earth.”
 A moderately difficult hike, the new trail offers views of Madera Canyon, Pine Peak, Mount Livermore (the highest peak in the Davis Mountains), Sawtooth Mountain and the whole of the upper watershed for Madera Creek. At one point, the trail drops down into Chico Canyon, where it follows the creek and takes hikers past a historic stock tank.

Hikers will walk through stands of stately ponderosa pines, pinion-juniper woodlands and grassy meadows. Wildlife that may be present, particularly at dawn or dusk, includes gray fox, ringtail, western scrub jay, acorn woodpecker, Montezuma quail, golden eagle, Davis Mountains cottontail, javelina, white-tail and mule deer, mountain short-horned lizard and, rarely, mountain lion. At dawn, visitors may listen for the bugling of elk in the fall or the chorus of coyotes any time of year.

The trail is open from dawn until dusk and camping is not allowed. Due to the sensitive nature of the plants and animals found on the preserve, mountain bikes, ATVs and pets are prohibited on the trail.

For more information, contact The Nature Conservancy’s office in Fort Davis at (432) 426-2390.
___________________ ___________________ _______
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org. In the Lone Star State, The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns more than 30 nature preserves and conservation projects and assists private landowners to conserve their land through more than 70 voluntary land-preservation agreements. The Nature Conservancy of Texas protects 250,000 acres of wild lands and, with partners, has conserved 750,000 acres for wildlife habitat across the state. Visit The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at nature.org/texas.

[Roy]

Great!!
That is one of the best road side parks in the state, I make it a point to eat there whenever I can.  Now I get to hike, too.

[bdann]

That's awesome.  Will definitely have to check that out. 

[KDann]

That's awesome.  Will definitely have to check that out. 

X2! Always wanted to explore that area.

[TheWildWestGuy]

That's Great, we need more trails in Texas, even short one's.  I didn't know there were Elk in the Davis Mountains?  I thought they were only found further north... TWWG

[Roger, Roger]

That's Great, we need more trails in Texas, even short one's.  I didn't know there were Elk in the Davis Mountains?  I thought they were only found further north... TWWG

They were brought in several years ago by ranchers, and now do pretty well out there.  The Glass Mountains are also full of Elk.  My prediction is that, just like with Aoudad, we'll be wishing one day that Elk were never brought in.  Even though Elk and Mule Deer don't really have the same diet, the deer tend to stay away from the Elk.  There has been a general trend in the Western U.S. over the past 50 years of less Mule Deer and more Elk, and I think this will continue.

Back on topic, I think this trail will be great. 

[Timbo]

We stop at the roadside park every time we're in the Davis Mountains. It is so peaceful and unspoiled. Rarely see another picnicer. Have also hiked in the Madera Canyon, up Mount Livermore. Beautiful, easy hike. (It's on Conservancy land, so check with them regarding public hiking days)

Looking forward to walking the new trail!

T&K

[STARLITDARKNESS3]

That's one of our stops when we go to the Observatory.... will have to spend more time there... Thanks.

[Boojum1]

That's Great, we need more trails in Texas, even short one's.  I didn't know there were Elk in the Davis Mountains?  I thought they were only found further north... TWWG

They were brought in several years ago by ranchers, and now do pretty well out there.  The Glass Mountains are also full of Elk.  My prediction is that, just like with Aoudad, we'll be wishing one day that Elk were never brought in.  Even though Elk and Mule Deer don't really have the same diet, the deer tend to stay away from the Elk.  There has been a general trend in the Western U.S. over the past 50 years of less Mule Deer and more Elk, and I think this will continue.

Back on topic, I think this trail will be great. 

I'm somehow vaguely remembering (college was 30+ years ago) that elk were once native to Texas based on assorted records.  I have never seen the data.  But they taste good.

[mountaindocdanny]

Regarding elk in Texas, it is my understanding that the only native population were Merriam elk (now extinct) which lived in the Guadalupes and surrounding environs.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/elk/

[ridgescrambler]

So glad to see this trail come to completion - helped cut it into the area about a year or so ago on a week long project out there. Great work by the team - hot and dirty work - well worth the end result. Now I will have to head out there again and hike the completed trail. Enjoy - happy hiking.

[SHANEA]

Site of separatist standoff now part of couple's private conservation effort

"For this part of the country, we don't have a lot of land, just a big backyard," Clare Freeman said. "One thing I don't miss is lawn care services, especially leaf blowers."